Writing for English Composition: College Essays
What you'll learn
- Apply the qualities of unity, coherence, and clarity to your own writing.
- Complete prewriting using a variety of prewriting techniques.
- Compose thesis statements and topic sentences.
- Organize your essays on an outline.
- Effectively revise and edit your essays.
- Add support and evidence to your essays to make your audience say, "WOW!"
Requirements
- Microsoft Word or a compatible word processing program is recommended
- Notebook paper
- Pen or pencil
Description
This 10-lecture course can be used as either a review or preview of what it means to write with the three main qualities of all effective writing: unity, coherence, and clarity. I will explain what each of these terms mean, show you examples of effective and ineffective writing, and give you lots of hints and tips for completing paragraphs and essays that demonstrate these three qualities. The course follows the writing process taught in most high school and undergraduate composition courses: prewriting and brainstorming, organizing and outlining, drafting, revising and editing, and formatting. The course also covers additional requirements that are sometimes difficult for students, including how to write effective thesis statements, creating topic sentences, drafting introductions and conclusions, and how to use transitional words and phrases.
The course includes an opportunity to write a final essay for evaluation. Best wishes for a successful course!
Who this course is for:
- College students who need help with academic writing
- New writers who want to improve skills for blogging or online writing
- Job seekers who want to impress potential employers
- Employees wishing to improve writing skills
- Students currently enrolled in a composition course who may need additional assistance!
Course content
- Preview12:59
- 09:21Lecture 2 - The Three Qualities of Effective Writing: Unity, Coherence, and Clarity
- Preview05:25
- Preview09:59
- 14:29Lecture 5 - Thesis Statements and Topic Sentences
- 08:40Lecture 6 - The Outline
- 11:30Lecture 7 - Drafting
- 05:01Lecture 9 - Finalizing
- 10:04Lecture 8 - Revision
- 06:10Lecture 10 - Summary
Instructor
![Amy Lynn Hess](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.5 Instructor Rating
- 351 Reviews
- 3,148 Students
- 6 Courses
Amy Lynn Hess is an Atlanta area poet, painter, potter, publisher, professor, and dramaturg. She holds a B.S. in Theatre and Interpretation from Central Michigan University, an M.A. in Theatre History and Criticism from Ohio University, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. She has published three chapbooks of poetry and a textbook about sentence diagramming, and she is the editor-in-chief for her small poetry publishing company, Gypsy Daughter. She has been an English and General Education Professor since March of 2008, having previously held jobs as an administrative assistant, bookkeeper, sales clerk and product expert at an art supply store, librarian, high school teacher, tutor, properties manager, costumer, make-up artist, and managing director at a non-profit playhouse.
You can read more of Amy Lynn's work on her blog, Gypsy Daughter Essays.